As exemplified in U.S. Pat. No. 5,089,914, No. 6,016,160, No. 6,023,288, No. 6,476,391, and No. 6,606,114 B1, and in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. U.S. 2003/0122958 A1, it is known to mount a thermal imaging camera and an associated display (viewer) to a firefighter's helmet, so as to provide the firefighter with thermal images of fallen or trapped persons or of heat-radiating objects, who or which would be otherwise obscured, as by smoke.
As exemplified in U.S. Pat. No. 6,016,160, No. 6,023,288, and No. 6,606,114 B1, it is known to mount a thermal imaging camera and an associated display below a front area of a brim of a firefighter's helmet and to place the thermal imaging camera to one side of the firefighter's head, so as to protect the thermal imaging camera against falling objects and so as to place the thermal imaging camera in what is described as “an envelope of reduced heat” below the front area of the brim.
As exemplified in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. U.S. 2003/0122958 A1, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein, it is known to mount a thermal imaging camera above a front area of a brim of a firefighter's helmet and to mount an associated display below the front brim. Therefore, advantageously, the thermal imaging camera provides the firefighter with a thermal image that is centered correctly, as compared to the thermal image provided to the firefighter by a thermal imaging camera placed to one side of the firefighter's head. However, disadvantageously, the thermal imaging camera is not protected by the front area of the brim of the firefighter's helmet, against direct impingement of thermal radiation, which may cause the thermal imaging camera to overheat.
In U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/732,158, supra, an aluminized, thermally insulative, protective shroud is disclosed, which is adapted, when secured to a protective helmet, to cover top, side, front, and bottom surfaces of the thermal imaging camera, except for a front opening for a front lens and except for a bottom opening for an associated arm connecting the thermal imaging camera to the associated display.
In the relevant art, the associated arm and the associated display may be also called an optical boom for the thermal imaging camera. In the relevant art, the abbreviation TIC may be also used to refer to a thermal imaging camera.